Painting of Mayor in lingerie found on him at his autopsy.
Reported by the NYT ----- Art School Apologizes for Painting of Mayor in Lingerie Published: May 15, 1988
CHICAGO, May 14— An art school apologized in advertisements appearing in Sunday newspapers here for exhibiting a student's portrait of the late Mayor Harold Washington in ladies' frilly lingerie.
''All educational institutions encourage students' freedom of expression,'' the School of the Art Institute said in full-page advertisements in The Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Tribune.
''Regrettably, in the use of his freedom, this student created a work that had the effect of insulting the memory of an important leader, Mayor Harold Washington.''
The student, David Nelson, depicted Mr. Washington in a frilly white bra, panties, garter and stockings, holding a pencil and frowning.
The Mayor died of a heart attack last November.....(rumors were rife, that, when examined, the Mayor was wearing ladie's lingerie under his suit---the inspiration for the painting).
The painting was hung in a students' exhibition at the school but was confiscated by the police Wednesday when black aldermen stormed in and said it disgraced the city's first black mayor and threatened public order.
The apologetic advertisement carried the names of Marshall Field 5th, president of the Art Institute of Chicago's board of trustees, and Tony Jones, president of the School of the Art Institute.
The Mayor.